Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Performed by Viller Valbonesi.
I - 0:00
Rudorff's Capriccio Appassionato was finished on September 29 of 1905, at Rudorff's country estate in Lauenstein near Hamelin. The piece derives its titular passionate character from the composer’s passion for rhythmic shifts and restless changes of harmony. Little more is known about the work, and the premiere date and performer involved are currently unknown.
Born in Berlin, Rudorff studied piano under Woldemar Bargiel between 1852-7, before enrolling at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1859, where he studied under Ignaz Moscheles, Louis Plaidy, and Julius Rietz. He was also a private pupil of Moritz Hauptmann and Carl Reinecke. Having grown up in the tradition of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, Rudorff was sceptic about Franz Liszt and his school. His commitment to Viennese Classicism is reflected in his collaboration on the complete edition of the works of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart. Carl Maria von Weber and Frédéric Chopin, whom he also admired, also found in him a conscientious editor. These names outline the background from which Rudorff's own work began.
The capriccio is structure in sonata-rondo form (A-B-A'-C-B'-A''-Coda). It begins with a rhythmic and agitated main theme in B minor, which leads to a widely lyrical and cantabile second theme, offering great contrast before returning to the main material. The themes are then developed in the central section before being recapitulated in an inverted way (the second before the main one). The work then ends with a dramatic and virtuosic coda.
Picture: "The Round Dance" (c. 1905) by German painter Ludwig von Hofmann.
Musical analysis written by myself. Source: tinyurl.com/24lpgjt5
Unfortunately, the score isn't freely available.
Performed by Viller Valbonesi.
I - 0:00
Rudorff's Capriccio Appassionato was finished on September 29 of 1905, at Rudorff's country estate in Lauenstein near Hamelin. The piece derives its titular passionate character from the composer’s passion for rhythmic shifts and restless changes of harmony. Little more is known about the work, and the premiere date and performer involved are currently unknown.
Born in Berlin, Rudorff studied piano under Woldemar Bargiel between 1852-7, before enrolling at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1859, where he studied under Ignaz Moscheles, Louis Plaidy, and Julius Rietz. He was also a private pupil of Moritz Hauptmann and Carl Reinecke. Having grown up in the tradition of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, Rudorff was sceptic about Franz Liszt and his school. His commitment to Viennese Classicism is reflected in his collaboration on the complete edition of the works of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart. Carl Maria von Weber and Frédéric Chopin, whom he also admired, also found in him a conscientious editor. These names outline the background from which Rudorff's own work began.
The capriccio is structure in sonata-rondo form (A-B-A'-C-B'-A''-Coda). It begins with a rhythmic and agitated main theme in B minor, which leads to a widely lyrical and cantabile second theme, offering great contrast before returning to the main material. The themes are then developed in the central section before being recapitulated in an inverted way (the second before the main one). The work then ends with a dramatic and virtuosic coda.
Picture: "The Round Dance" (c. 1905) by German painter Ludwig von Hofmann.
Musical analysis written by myself. Source: tinyurl.com/24lpgjt5
Unfortunately, the score isn't freely available.
